#writingtips – Read First Chapter.com

Tag: #writingtips

Writers Diary – Pantser vs. Plotter

CHOOSE A PATHWAY:

I was lucky when I started as I knew, without a doubt, that I was a plotter.  I don't write a letter without a short list of points I want to cover.  But this can be a choice that can help you not get lost in the overwhelming number of things you need to keep in mind for any novel.

I won't go into too much detail as there are hundreds of youtube videos about being a pantser and being a plotter by more experienced people than me.  But in one sentence, a pantser is someone who sits down and begins writing 'by the seat of their pants' without an outline or a template of any kind.  Steven Kind is a pantser.  Being a plotter means that you start with a template, and then an outline, and then begin writing the novel itself.

There are natural-born pantsers like Steven King, and if you are one of those, that should be your pathway.  However, my suggestion to a newbie writer, especially if you don't know if you are a pantser or plotter, is to  try to at least have a template and at least three-act play structure to keep you on track.

#WRITERS TOOL - MYSTERY TEMPLATE

mystery-novel-templateThere are probably hundreds of templates out there for you to choose from.  If you search "writing template" at images.google.com, you will find hundreds of them.  I incorporated several of them into my  own custom Mystery Template.   You can click here to download the template to have a look at it or use it.

This is the template I wound up using after at least a year of struggling with the other confusing templates.  In time, I began to use a template that was divided into four acts, so to speak, but I'll talk about that one next.

 

 



Writers Diary – First Day – Whys and Wherefores

groomed for marriage ebookMy pen name is R Shannon and I started writing in late 2019.  I self-published my first novel on KDP on 10/01/2020.  The name of it is Groomed for Marriage.

I am set to retire from many careers in February 2023 at which time I hope to devote myself more to giving back to the DIY Writing Community.  I learned everything I know today from the generous people who have shared their ideas, skills, and knowhow with the #writingcommunity on YouTube, their books, and their personal websites.

I have published 7 novels and am about to release my 8th book around August of 2022.  The purpose of this blog is to help other people who are just beginning too.  I have done HOURS AND HOURS of research and my hope is to save you some hours of research.

Most of what I'm sharing comes from other authors.  My contribution is to try in some way to organize the information in some curriculum so that a newbie can learn what they need for the process of writing to publication to self-marketing.

I started writing in Word, but the tool that launched me as a writer was Scrivener.  This is a reasonably-priced software that allows you to always have a bird's eye view of all that is happening.  It can also be used to do initial plotting, outlining, writing the book, and even marketing.  When I purchased it, it was $99 and it made all the difference in the world.

WRITING TIP:

This is a screen shot from Scrivener during the initial of writing.  As you can see, I can keep track of new days, and chapters on the left-hand side, the writing itself is in the middle, and on the right hand side are various other tools, but this shot is showing the keywords. #writingtip

HOW I USE SCRIVENER KEYWORDS:

scrivener-keywordsFor this novel series, I use the keywords to allow me to name every relationship in the chapter.  Then at the end, I can select only one keyword and track the character arc and/or the action in that plot or subplot.  I didn't use keywords as a brand new writer, but I wish I knew this was a tool I could use.  It is so very helpful. #writingstrategies